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Would it be a good idea to …
… update Pennsylvania’s voting system?
In New Jersey, which experienced pitifully low voter turnout in November’s election, Democrats last week rallied behind the so-called Democracy Act, which they say is intended to increase citizen participation. Various versions of the bill, one of which the legislature approved and sent to Gov. Chris Christie’s desk, included provisions that would give people the ability to register and update their information online, provide automatic registration when obtaining a driver’s license and allow two weeks of in-person early voting.
Other changes reportedly would open pre-registration to 17-year-olds and expand the availability of election notices and materials printed in multiple languages.
Garden State lawmakers struck down a related proposal that would have permitted someone to register to vote on Election Day and concurrently cast a provisional ballot.
Christie, a Republican and newly announced presidential candidate, was expected to veto the legislation. He and others dubious about the bill contend many of its measures would promote voter fraud. During his monthly radio show, Christie said: “I don’t think that people ought to be automatically registered to vote. … Is it really too much … to ask someone to fill out a form?”
Progressive groups such as the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law have long advocated for voter registration modernization. “The nation’s broken voter registration system is a chief cause of long lines and Election Day chaos,” the Brennan Center argues on its website. “Many states rely on a blizzard of paper records that are rife with error while leaving out eligible voters.”
Should Pennsylvania be next in line to take up voting reform? In your experience, is this state’s voting registration system adequate or antiquated? Is online registration overdue or ripe for abuse? Give us your feedback by sending a letter to the editor or posting comments to this editorial at timesleader.com.
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